Senator Bates Urges Governor to Expedite School Bond Money

SACRAMENTO – Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) recently sent a letter to Governor Brown urging him to implement the passage of Proposition 51, the state school bond initiative.

Voters approved the $9 billion school bond last November which would provide funds to help modernize and in some cases build new schools for students and teachers.

Governor Brown needs to approve the sale of the bonds before the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) will be able to start processing applications from school districts to get the projects off the ground. According to the Coalition for Adequate School Housing, the postponement of implementing the school bond initiative means many school construction and modernization projects in California may not be funded until 2020. Currently, there is a $2.4 billion backlog of project funding.

Senator Bates said, “Continued delay in implementing funds from Prop. 51 will have serious drawbacks for the nearly six million students who attend K-12 public schools. Students and their school districts have been waiting to start new construction or modernize existing classrooms. We need to provide more students with safe, quality schools as soon as possible.

“Some of the projects waiting for funds in my Senate district date back to 2013. Further delays would mean that some of these school projects may not begin until 2020. We need the governor to act now to provide our students with a safe and healthy environment.”